TECHNOLOGY: Faculty members at a top Chinese university have collaborated for years on technical research papers with a PLA unit accused of being at the heart of China’s alleged cyber-war against Western commercial targets.

Region: Bolivia’s president said he would file a suit against Chile at the ICJ “in the coming days” in a bid to reclaim access to the sea lost in a 19th century war. (AFP)

Colombia: Police captured a high-ranking member of the FARC’s Eastern Bloc who is suspected of participating in a deadly 2002 mortar attack during former President Uribe’s first inauguration. (EFE)

Honduras: The AP reported that the US State Department’s monetary support for the Honduran National Police goes to units technically under the supervision of a police chief accused of extrajudicial killings and “social cleansing.” (AP)

Mexico: Several off-duty federal police officers were killed in the city of Altamirano. (Reuters)

ASIA

Region: Afghan president Karzai will travel to Qatar this month to hold meetings about the establishment of peace talks with the Taliban. (Reuters)

Region: Japan’s FM Kishida said that China’s rising military power is “a threat” to the region. (Kyodo)

Afghanistan: The Pentagon said the US reached an agreement on a deal that will see Bagram military prison handed over to Afghan authorities next week. (AFP)

Burma: The UN envoy to the country visited the location of ongoing communal riots in the center of the country. (AFP)

Korean Peninsula: The militaries of the US and ROK said they finalized and signed a new joint operational plan for responding to future DPRK provocations. (Kyodo)

EUROPE

Region: Spanish, Portuguese and British police boarded a ship loaded with two tons of cocaine destined for sale in Europe and arrested nine people. (AP)

Syria: Rebels fighting the regime of President Assad seized a key air base in the southern province of Daraa. (AFP)

TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS

Cybersecurity: Faculty members at a top Chinese university have collaborated for years on technical research papers with a PLA unit accused of being at the heart of China’s alleged cyber-war against Western commercial targets. (Reuters)

Asia: Acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Joseph Yun will visit China, the Republic of Korea and Japan to discuss a range of bilateral, regional and global issues (to 27MAR).

Afghanistan: The Bagram military prison will be transferred to Afghan authorities, as agreed by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Italy: The trial of former PM Silvio Berlusconi is set to resume, although the trial has already been delayed three times.